(CNN) - The vast majority of Americans say Vladimir Putin's not honest or trustworthy, but according to a new national poll they don't compare the Russian president's actions in Ukraine with the land grabs in the years leading up to World War II by Germany's Adolf Hitler.

A Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday indicates that only 24% of the public equates Putin's annexing last month of neighboring Ukraine's Crimea peninsula with Hitler's actions, with 51% saying that's too strong a comparison. Just over one in five admitted they don't know enough about pre-Second World War history to answer the question.

Washington (CNN) - Some U.S. lawmakers are ready to say that it’s futile to try to persuade Russia to give up control of Crimea.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley on Sunday that the debate over the Crimean Peninsula is "done" and the region is now under Moscow's control.

(CNN) – Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's comments earlier this week that a "trained ape" could have done a better job securing diplomatic relations with Afghanistan than the Obama administration sparked a backlash on social media.

But a Rumsfeld aide notes that he has used the phrase before and wasn't referring specifically to President Barack Obama.

Washington (CNN) - Nearly six in ten Americans say they approve of the sanctions the United States and the West have placed on Russia, but they don't expect the sanctions to be effective, according to a new national survey.

And a CBS News poll also indicates more people disapprove than approve of how President Barack Obama has handled the crisis, and a majority of the public feels the situation in Ukraine is beyond America's control and that the U.S. doesn't have a responsibility to get involved.

(CNN) - The Obama administration said Sunday that action against Russia for its incursion into Crimea is working, as Moscow’s economy struggles under sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries.

"This is exactly already a real cost for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and in Russia and the economy," White House deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said on CNN's "State of the Union."

(CNN) – President Barack Obama’s European tour – originally focused on nuclear security and a first-time meeting with the new Pope – has taken on new urgency as international allies seek ways to punish Russia for its incursion into Ukraine.

Obama’s four-day continental excursion still features some Old World flair at the newly refurbished Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and a tour of the Colosseum in Rome. But amid the Vermeers and ancient ruins, the President must try to rally European leaders around a tougher response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s movement into the Crimean Peninsula.

(CNN) - Based on intelligence, Obama administration officials are very concerned the Russians are not being truthful when they say their forces near Ukraine's eastern and southern borders are merely there for training exercises, sources tell CNN.

Officials assess that Russia - as early as coming days - could use any number of pretexts to justify further military incursions into Ukraine.